Occupational health effects during periods with heat

Abstract

Hydration status, awareness and the attitude to health and performance effects of preventing dehydration was evaluated in five industries across Europe. The prevalence of dehydration was assessed via analyses of urine samples from 139 workers and questionnaires collected from employers as well as employees collected from ten different work places. In total 80 % of all workers were either suboptimal hydrated at the onset of work or became dehydrated during their work shift with levels equal to or higher than those associated with impaired function in cognitively dominated tasks and complex motor function. The high prevalence of dehydration is in conflict with ∼75% of all workers that emphasize drinking as the most important mitigation strategy during periods with elevated heat strain. Also, work safety and prevention of negative health effect was stressed as very important both by employers and employees (average score 9 out of 10). Although, hydration is emphasized by work-safety advisories, it seems clear that more effective 24/7 hydration strategies are warranted. We propose that future protection of workers against detrimental effects of heat should consider personalized alerts that can integrate the importance of timing to facilitate the development of appropriate hydration habits that accounts for the large inter-individual variation in sweating and hence differences in water and electrolyte needs.